This webzine is online since August 2010 and is completely dedicated to Electronic Music (EM) identified as the Berlin School style and its derived. You will find interviews but mostly reviews of ambient, sequenced and symphonic EM with a glimpse on other related genres. You have questions or want your music to be reviewed? Please read the 123 FAQ section attentively. Bear in mind the main purpose of this Blog. So welcome in and I hope it will guide you into the wonderful world of EM.

samedi 30 juin 2018

“This 2nd album of Pharamond meets our expectations with an EM as much well done than on Orbis Tertius and tied to a high level of creativity”

1 Luminescence 18:002 Conference of the Birds 8:453 Faune 4:044 Biophores 17:385 Sequoia 11:15SynGate CD-R SM02(CD-r/DDL 59:44)(Berlin School with a zest of TD's 77-82 era)==================================== **Chronique en français plus bas**====================================One was expecting, in fact we hoped for, a new album from Pharamond for a long time. One of the rare newcomers to propose a unique style, Sylvain Mazars had surprised the planet EM in 2014 with an amazing album, Orbis Tertius, which had attracted the praise of critics and fans of the genre. Inspired by the multiple bends of Tangerine Dream in the 70's and the 80's, the French musician offered a very refined music with a clear penchant for a more progressive approach which even flirted with the psychedelic side of the golden years of electronic and / or progressive music. While respecting this imprint, “Naturalis Historia” takes a more daring turn with a vision that makes the right part between the ambient rhythms and the soundscapes that are at the greatness of another fascinating slice in the history of human kind."Luminescence" begins this audacious musical adventure of Pharamond with a structure of rhythm built on a series of riffs which change skins as the moods change the scenery. Voices, I heard Latin (?!), and murmurs clash in a place shrouded by a strange halo woven of words and of electronic elements. A large sonic lighthouse emerges and makes twirl its beam of sounds and moods, casting an apocalyptic vision on where a series of riffs from an acoustic guitar clings onto it. Energetic, this series forges a kind of lively ballad which dominates the ambiances stigmatized by flute songs, sonic graffitis and synth pads tempted to carve a slow staccato. The song from the synth is very Tangerine Dream, period 77-80. And the layers of chthonic voices, as well as these banks of nebulous mist, add even more the influences of the Dream in the equation of “Naturalis Historia”. The rhythm slowly migrates towards a structure of sequences of which the vivid oscillations freeze a more stationary structure. The scenery remains flamboyant with arias which twirl around this static approach and these murmurs of Mellotron which always inject this scent of mysticism to EM. A fourth change occurs at the same time as the sequences radiate of sound distortions at around the 11th minute. Standing out from its static membrane, "Luminescence" clings to a more fluid, but not more animated, movement with keys weakened by the sound radiations and which gradually melt into a structure breathing like a mad toad. We are in the last minutes of a title in motion and which gives an excellent idea of the next 40 minutes to come, while the ethereal finale is nourished by a timid Mellotron and a pensive piano. "Conference of the Birds" begins slowly. Songs from enchanted flute and tinklings of little bells fill a woodland where drip a tranquil water. A bit like a thick duvet which is removed from the bed, the synth pads and their caresses of violins awaken an avian fauna. This heavenly setting floats gently until meeting a line of sequences which makes its keys leap like only Chris Franke knew how to do it at the time. The tones are limpid and the cabrioles are agile in this kind of ascending circular beat. Another more orchestral movement starts zigzagging by drawing a structure that reminds me of Edgar Froese in Stuntman (strange phenomenon because it's the 2nd time this week), bringing this almost symphonic road to a kind of quiet refuge for this fascinating conference for birds."Faune" is a good electronic rock in a structure more striking at the sound level than of the rhythm which is a mid-tempo with its crossing between the ample oscillations of the sequencer and sober electronic percussions. This is a good title probably inspired by the Exit period of Tangerine Dream if we rely on the many sound pastiches which burst and sparkle from everywhere. Short and succulent! A bit like "Luminescence", "Biophores" is another jewel with an evolutionary structure filled with effects of ambiances and permutations in its rhythmic horizons. Its first 5 minutes offer an approach of ambient rhythm with a meshing of bass sequences which leap silently in very sharp harmonies of a synth in mode Edgar Froese. Moreover, the large oscillating loops cooing like in an opera of Martenot waves have the sides a little less polished than in "Conference of the Birds". The layers of mists and electronic noises add to this decor which takes a more theatrical turn a la Walter Christian Rothe in Let the Night Last Forever. A torrential rain of glass sequences falls on these ambiences a little before the 8th minute, sculpting a very Peter Baumann approach which goes straight into the perfumes of Logos. After these 18 very exploratory minutes, "Sequoia" ends this 2nd opus of Pharamond on a more ambient note where organic noises purr with synth pads more discreet than those advancing like a carpet of white fog over a forest which bursts of its visceral secrets.

Pharamond could not has a better answer than this “Naturalis Historia” in front of the general questioning following the reception of Orbis Tertius. Was it a twist of fate? A straw fire? The answer is no! This 2nd album of Pharamond meets our expectations, somewhat forgotten in these 4 years of silence I must said, with an EM as much well done and tied to a high level of creativity. This is great EM and an excellent album which transcends the usual genre while being rather accessible in its metamorphoses.

vendredi 29 juin 2018

“This is a stunning album loaded of electronic Berliner beats and great melodic anthems that will blow your mind off”

1 Surreal Dreams Part I (Science) 8:142 Surreal Dreams Part II (Visions) 8:143 Surreal Dreams Part III (3 Spheres) 16:504 Hydrothermal Springs Part I to III 15:585 The Real 9 11 (Alternate Rules) 8:396 Surreal Dreams Part IV (The End) 8:307 Surreal Dreams Part V 9:25MellowJet Records |cdr-ur1801(CD-r/DDL 75:50)(E-Rock & Berlin School)==================================== **Chronique en français plus bas**====================================Uwe Reckzeh is part of this category of discrete artists who come and go, leaving behind works that make us regret the big gaps of time between each album. Except that sometimes the wait is worth it! Some 3 years after the release of Perfection Mode, Uwe Reckzeh comes out of his mutism to launch another striking album. On solid rhythms and on evolutionary mode as well as with arrangements always very stylized, “Surreal Dreams” takes again where Perfection Mode had stigmatized its footprints between our ears. Either with a kind of concept album where the phases of electronic rock and Berlin School inspired by the 80's and 90's of Tangerine Dream are pouring in with an always melodious approach from the Nordrhein-Westfalen musician. A superb album where the guitar and the synth are the kings of an electronic universe to the size of its possibilities.The noises come from far away. It looks like a pile of chains breaking the last bones in a hubbub of clamor. A bass pulsation redirects our attention by structuring a bouncy and lively rhythm to which are added percussions which are always as effective as the sequencing patterns in the universe of Uwe Reckzeh. Synth riffs lay down the beginnings of a nascent melodious approach, while other riffs of an electronic guitar reaffirm the Dream influences on the territory of “Surreal Dreams”. Synth lines make singing these electronic birds whose songs coo on a structure weighed down by guitar riffs always a little more powerful. And behind all these clamours, these initial sounds and these structural elements in place, "Surreal Dreams Part I (Science)" takes off in the skin of an electronic rock which takes advantage of the brief moments of hesitation between the phases of its development to oppose good solos of a six-strings vociferating of heavy and weighty riffs to sequences disguised as bells and of which the tinklings of ice disarm as much as enchant. With this tendency to constantly adding elements of surprises in his structures, Uwe Reckzeh intoxicates our ears with a sonic cornucopia which will seduce in many places on his last album. In its suit of mid-tempo seasoned of crystalline tones, "Surreal Dreams Part II (Visions)" offers a more tempered approach. The scenery is almost surreal with these guitar chords as limpid as drops of water frozen in nitrogen which tinkle as if they were softened by an elegiac xylophone effect. Good electronic arrangements and pads of absent voices give a depth without pitfall to a bounding rhythm which welcomes this frosty melody. A rhythm forged on this fusion of sequencer and electronic beat-boxes to which many filaments of sequences grow and crawl in a structure which offers a final closer to the usual lands of electronic rock soaked in a Berlin School revamped. "Surreal Dreams Part III (3 Spheres)" follows with a fascinating introduction that propels us into the time of nightclubs where the singers also sold cigars. The structure becomes more lively when supported by a meshing of sequences, focused on bass pulsations, and of sober percussions which welcomes a good other melodious approach sculpted by a synth dreaming of the Martenot waves. This synth, and its zigzagging waves, and the arrangements make me think of the good Edgar Froese's Stuntman era. The pace advances, then it stops! It's going on the trail back? It stops again. And each time it feeds the basin of its moods with good arrangements and riffs that fill our eardrums. They also fill the borders of its harmonies with good synth solos loaded of vampiric aromas and finally the depth of its rhythm with more sequences which, paired to the riffs, give a more electronic rock luster to this title in search of its mutations.Built in 3 stages, "Hydrothermal Springs Part I to III" is a superb title. This is the cornerstone of“Surreal Dreams” with a very rockish first phase. A second one in Berlin School mode, in what is nobler, and finally with a mid-rock / mid-Berliner. These phases of rhythms, pleasantly constructed on brilliant visions of the sequencers, transit between brief ambiospherical passages before returning to another form. The arrangements and the electronic decor is dense and splendidly covered with thin lines of harmonies which fly all over this album with tunes of guitar and of synth which sometimes whistle some catchy solos. A huge electronic rock with a good theatrical dose, "The Real 911 (Alternate Rules)" stands out with its very personal imprint. The synth launches Arias whose sung melodies flirt with Arabian perfumes, in addition to feeding our ears of good and very acrobatic solos. The rhythm is still in evolutionary mode, there are even some more baroque phases here and there, with effects of reverberations and echoes in its opening before falling into a good electronic rock. The drums are unleashed on this title while the sequencer, very nervous and feverish, oscillates its lively and hungry keys in a video game scenery. "Surreal Dreams Part IV (The End)" offers a delicate introduction marked by the presence of a piano which traces a more acoustic melodic pattern. The rhythm is of a motionless nature with a sequencer in a mode compulsive pounding key, while the percussions are clubbing the ambiences caulked of tenderness. More melodious than melancholy, the piano disperses its notes in the caresses of a synth and of its solos with tones as spectral as the Martenot waves. The continuous pulsation of the sequencer and the disguised solos arise memories of a Vangelis in great shape in his Antartica period. These solos capture moreover the vibes of “Surreal Dreams” from the very beginning. So nothing more normal that they invade the territories of "Surreal Dreams Part V" which finishes this last opus of Uwe Reckzeh with elegance and without complexity in the intersections of the textures in the melodies and in the moods, while the rhythm remains stoic in its electronic envelope carved on a sequencer as sober as the percussions. Sometimes the results justify the expectations. This is exactly the case of this “Surreal Dreams” from Uwe Reckzeh. A great album without burrs that continually amazes over the course of his Discovery.Sylvain Lupari (June 29th, 2018) ****½*synth&sequences.comAvailable on MellowJet Records Web store===============================================================================

mercredi 27 juin 2018

“For his fans and for those who loved this splendid album which is Walking with Ghosts”

1 ReConnected 7:392 Walking with Ghosts (Ambient Mix) 5:123 Walking with Ghosts (Chill Mix) 5:424 Walking with Ghosts (Big Chill Mix) 6:065 Walking with Ghosts Fantasy6 Stranger Days (Preview) 8:00AD199CDr(CD-r/DDL 40:19)(Harmonic EM)==================================== **Chronique en français plus bas**====================================We all look forward to David Wright's latest album. Constantly put back in the calendar for reasons beyond the control of his composer, Stranger Days is a double album that should appear in late August 2018. In the meantime, our friend David makes available to his fans this mini album of a 40 minutes which offers 4 versions of his Walking with Ghost, without a doubt the flagship album in the career of David Wright. “Walking with Ghosts (The Remixes)” also features a segment narrated by David Wright who tells us a bit more about Stranger Days, while giving us a glimpse of the music, as well as a nice revamped version of the Connected title from the album of the same name released in 2012 with "ReConnected". And if we recognize the melody, the arrangements pull the hair of the arms towards our eyes! The various remixes of the theme song of the WwG album, respect the orientations of the targeted atmospheres. I prefer "Walking with Ghosts (Ambient Mix)" which is closer to the original version but with more vitamins in it, while Chill Mix was already on the menu of Beyond the Airwaves Vol. 2. The Big Chill Mix offers a very lively vision of a music which remains impregnable in my ears with this original version of silver mermaids singing in icy-blue waters. With "ReConnected", "Walking with Ghosts Fantasy" are the only two titles that should appear on Stranger Days. This one is a slow title with the melody that we all know floating in a heavenly scenery. Arrangements to pull out tears get out of the synths and of their strings stretched like the pain of a weeping violin. It's David Wright at his best who knows how to extract the best from the arrangements that he juxtaposes to melodies which will cross the time. For his fans and for those who loved this splendid album which is Walking with Ghosts.

mardi 26 juin 2018

“This album has all the attributes of an ambient music for an intimate outing in a cemetery and of its legends of resurrection of its inhabitants without life”

1 Opening Argument 2:272 Mutatis Mutandis 2:573 Damnum Fatale 4:144 Obscure Statement 2:185 Nolo Contendere 2:376 Res Judicata 2:057 Res Gestae 19:488 Ultra Vires 3:03Caustic Reverie Music(DDL 39:29)Dark & Industrial Ambient Music)==================================== **Chronique en français plus bas**====================================Built on 7 little titles and a very long, “Ultra Vires” has all the attributes of an album of music ambiences for an intimate outing in a cemetery and its legends of resurrection of its inhabitants without life. And as the information say about it at its release, it's an album where the elements were treated on tape recording, remodeled and finally tortured (sic!) in order to give new forms and, especially, new sound textures. In the chronology of works for cinema-in-your-head from Caustic Reverie, “Ultra Vires” is the companion of Inadmissible Evidence which was released in 2008. It's an album very difficult to tame because it is noisier than musical with a flock of musical tones and sound samplings deconstructed which have been reshaped to create a climate where fright meets a serenity won with strike of chills.If "Opening Argument" infiltrates our ears gently, "Mutatis Mutandis" goes in the opposite direction with all the depth of its meaning. This is industrial ambient with synth waves which spit metal when they collide. "Damnum Fatale" cogitates between the two genres before fleeing with a surge of cavernous breezes. "Obscure Statement" is a long wind inhabited by sound mutations and some long wiishh, while "Nolo Contendere" takes up the industrial theme of "Mutatis Mutandis" with sharper squeals. "Res Judicata" is the most acidic title of this music collection of ambiences not to play to meditate or to fall asleep. "Res Gestae" is a long journey in sounds in a tunnel where the ambient air and its elements form a long meditative lament rather relaxing. If its intro is cracked by an approach of industrial ambient, the rest is a nice moment of relaxation with a concerto of hot breezes pushed by the perfections of the walls of this underground cavity whose exit ended to an oasis of serenity. It's a good moment of this album where we jump again with the introduction of its title-track. And even if the last seconds of "Ultra Vires" are rather relaxing, our nerves, becoming again sharped, remain too tense to appreciate the warm whispers that have left us perplexed throughout “Ultra Vires”. An album of ambient moves not made to make us sleep!Sylvain Lupari (June 26th, 2018) *****synth&sequences.comAvailable on Caustic Reverie Bandcamp===============================================================================

dimanche 24 juin 2018

“Renaissance is a great opus where the French synthesist proposes 3 long musical rivers with a grandiose sonic decor”1 Out of the Silence 21:552 Ici et Maintenant 25:403 Valentins Traum 17:24Sequentia Legenda Music(CD/DDL 64:59)(Berlin School)==================================== **Chronique en français plus bas**====================================Since the Blue Dream album, Laurent Schieber always tries to find the right tone to bring his musical philosophy to that of the great thinkers of the minimalist movements of the modern EM. And when I say modern, I think of Klaus Schulze as well as the first works of such important artists like Kraftwerk, Manuel Göttsching and Robert Schroeder. Blue Dream had a strong impact with its Klaus Schulze's crystal-centered approach of Mirage when it was released in 2015. Sequentia Legenda's 2 subsequent albums kind of failed to achieve this level of excellence with being more predictable. In this sense that we knew where the music of Extended and Ethereal would go! It's completely different with “Renaissance”! Built around three long minimalist acts, this latest work of Sequentia Legenda reaches our level of expectation by moving away from the standards of the French musician whose collaboration with Kurtz Mindfields, for the title "Out of the Silence", finally joins the delicacies of vintage EM with today's technologies. A superb album where Laurent's visions flirts with the perfumes of Klaus Schulze, period 85-90, and Robert Schroeder at the cradle of his illusions, from 80 to 85.It's from a wave coming from the West that "Out of the Silence" rises to our ears. Harmonic loops and oscillations tint the approach of a kind of intergalactic Western which enriches this perception with the addition of percussive effects stuffed with gas. They sound like light trots of hooves. As an engineer, with a doctorate in decoration, Sequentia Legenda builds his linear roads with a sound vegetation which grows richer over the course of his conquests with his audience. Here, the movement and its opening are pecked by clatter of wood while the sound waves float undulating with a little additional zest of vigor. Subtly, everything is accelerating. The loops roll faster, the oscillations struggle to hold back those threads of voices which hum while the percussion and its rattling effects go faster that the slow evolution of the movement. Title originally offered in a context of 9 minutes with Kurtz Mindfields, "Out of the Silence" stretches its charms with a magnetism that has been proven since Blue Dream, but with more punch in the beat when the percussions add a dimension of cosmic rock a little before the 7 minutes. Subsequently, the music evolves by prolonging this state of hypnosis in the listener while nuancing its movement with a rhythmic deflection in the bass line. Drums, melody loops and the constant shades which destabilize its minimalist road make "Out of the Silence" a superb title which is richer and obsessing in headphones.Built on the same evolving minimalist mold, "Ici et Maintenant" is the title closest to this fusion Schulze/Schroeder with a jerky ambient rhythm filled with a very strong sonic ornament. Composed for his son, "Valentins Traum" is a splendid hypnotic movement which amazes during the course of its discovery. Layers of mist, where are wandering mechanical moans, envelop the sonic shroud of its introduction. Orchestral with a good dose of emotion, these layers seem to hum a seraphic song with some slow winged movements which always seem to want to exceed the limits of heavens. Another oscillating wave is grafted to the movement. Its appearance seems sudden, so much the charismatic amplitude of the first movement is more than enthralling. Our ears perceive behind these layers this river of pearls whose clarity of shimmer blows the cold magic of Mirage, this album of Klaus Schulze which is a great influence in the world of Sequentia Legenda. Here again, the minimalist movement takes all its seconds to maximize the immense possibilities of a sound stage where already a crackling shadow brings us to the dream world of Valentin. Laurent Schieber has developed for his last album a very refined taste with regard to the sound envelope which doesn't let a second of silence pass. No hole without sounds! This is how the synth lines, some as ethereal as they are very sulphurous, get engage in a constant battle with songs and effects which tenderly envelop the advance of "Ici et Maintenant". A breakthrough which reach its culminate point with the arrival of percussion around the 11 minutes, giving an emotional heaviness to the music which spills on all sides of our headphones.Intense and ... doubly intense, “Renaissance” is a great opus, available as CD and as download, coming from Sequentia Legenda. The French synthesist proposes here 3 long musical rivers with a grandiose sonic decor which goes beyond the boundaries of the conventional charms of the Berlin School EM style. The atmospheres are striking with the sound effects known of his repertoire and other very discreet effects of reverberations which constantly add emotional dimensions to evolutionary approaches that have totally surprised me as the subtleties in the structural changes arrive by good doses of emotions. It's the best album of Sequentia Legenda and sincerely I wonder how Laurent Schieber will come to surpass the dimensions of “Renaissance” one day…Sylvain Lupari (June 23rd, 2018) *****synth&sequences.comAvailable on Sequentia Legenda Bandcamp===============================================================================

vendredi 22 juin 2018

“Again, another good EM album from Alluste with his sequencing patterns which have now the company of good synth harmonies and solos”

1 Red Clouds 6:312 Mystery Cluster 13:223 Distant Voices 7:424 Space Lagoon 6:405 The Dark Place 7:326 Endless Mystery III 6:297 Alien Rain 4:578 Wormhole 8:01Alluste Music(DDL 61:18)(Berlin School)==================================== **Chronique en français plus bas**====================================It's with a shroud of sadness that "Red Clouds" crosses the silence to reach our ears. The first arpeggios are dark and they dance in the void with a veil of melancholy. A slight scented mist of humming embellishes the scene of an astral vision. And when the synth espouses the funeral march of the arpeggios, the music becomes more playful. Drum jingles lingers without thinking of a form of rhythm, leaving Alluste's magic fingers drawn harmoniously beautiful solos and engineer a movement of the sequencer which lays down these floating rhythms. Circular rhythms where the keys come and go and bounce meekly in the footprint of the melody. The layers of voice become more abundant and create a wall of atmospheres that a more accentuated movement of the sequencer tames, while it remains less than 2 minutes to "Red Clouds". The first thing that strikes me in this last opus of Alluste is this atmosphere very close to the first works of EM that the Italian synthesist manages to inject to “Alien Worlds”. Since a few albums, Piero Monachello is doing well by daring more and more synth solos. And on this album, they became as melodious as his ritornellos of minimalist sequences which have embroidered the dimensions of his first albums. Hence these influences that I related with the music of Software. Now, Alluste has become a complete musician and this is reflected in his compositions, as in the beautiful "Endless Mystery III" and his nostalgic piano which melts its emotions on a splendid ballet of rotating sequences. Mist slicks of the 70's and seraphic voices have become the passports of a world still in motion, but definitely more musical. Even dreamlike.

"Mystery Cluster" is a long title which evolves in 3 phases. Alluste develops it with a delicate line of sequence which oscillates with a harmonious fluidity. The mysterious haze which has preceded this sluggish rhythm extends its hold with an even more opaque density coming from cavernous breezes as the arpeggios emerge to make tinkle a melody which flows faster than the rhythm but remains stationary. This first movement runs out of steam in an envelope of ambiances which has become more chthonic. Yet, a first ear worm is released. A mesh of bass pulsations, which go up and down, with sequences which hiccup while hopping in layers of mists and voices feed a second phase without a story which stops abrupt around the 10th minute. And it's after a brief appearance of a radiations' mass that "Mystery Cluster" will finish its long journey in elements of sequences and of ambiences very Franke and Tangerine Dream. "Distant Voices" navigates between the atmospheres of its heavy layers of fog and voices and its ambient rhythm built on small sequences with urgent palpitations. The electronic orchestrations are well drawn in this title which is closer to a lunar ballad with melodic sequences which shake the tranquility of those more rhythmic but which are still too frail to shake the atmosphere. There are a lot of emotions to the square thumb in this title which is still quite musical. Under these elephantine layers, "Space Lagoon" frees a skeletal structure of a fluid rhythm which is mounted on a bed of sequences with very tight woven oscillations. Sails of seraphic voices embrace this fragile approach which is swallowed up after 2 minutes by a gargantuan bass veil, giving the necessary impetus so that the title reaches the bases of a good catchy ballad. The atmospheres of "The Dark Place" are imaged in a black hole where a horde of electronic sparrow roams. The chirps are also as enchanting as imaginable in a setting that does not reflect the ambiances of the title. But whatever! Alluste succeeds in bringing back TD elements of the Jive years again on this shimmering bed of sequences which sparkles like a river and its stationary waters. Too little too late, another rhythm structure is born a few seconds before the final. After the very good "Endless Mystery III", "Alien Rain" accosts our earlobes with a rhythmic structure which goes from neutral to light speed in a movement that fans of the Italian synthesist will recognize as his sonic signature. Movement whose slowness, and especially its decor of ambiences, will seduce more than one with the imposing "Wormhole". Slowly oscillating between beautiful layers of lunar orchestrations, the rhythm gradually reaches its cruising speed without too much to do or put too much, bringing just some very good EM to our ears.

mercredi 20 juin 2018

“Evolving beats and moods with a unique pattern of melodious sequencing, Strange Music is another strike of magic from MoonSatellite”1 Strange Music #1 13:422 Strange Music #2 7:323 Strange Music #3 9:364 Strange Music #4 13:175 Strange Music #5 5:486 Strange Music #6 8:507 Strange Music #7 7:04MoonSatellite Music(DDL 65:52)(Vintage French School's Cosmic Rock)==================================== **Chronique en français plus bas**====================================“Strange Music” is another strike of magic from MoonSatellite. Album after album, the musician from Nancy in France raises the bar of his art by revivifying this magic which continues to grow since he thrown us his Sequenzer - Volume 1 between the ears in 2009. For Wolf Lone, this album is also the culmination of Dark Summer. And according to its melancholy precepts, “Strange Music” initiates another lyrical and dreamlike journey where melancholic tears and sighs from synths get mingle to melodic sequences where blow synth pads which make us drift into a cosmos whose energy stars warm the tones rather analog of the synths. Another nice album where our senses are invaded by the magic of MoonSatellite, and it doesn't take too much time!After the usual electronic noises, a symphony of layers with an analog sweetness gets in our ears. The movement is drifting and is embellished of monastic voices. More than 3 minutes later, the sequencer goes into harmonic mode. And one of the riches, because there are several, of Wolf Lone's repertoire is his ability to sculpt harmonic rhythms which always remain in a hovering state, even if the sequences are kicking for a pulsating rhythm which buzzes of several other sequences. There are two lines of rhythms on "Strange Music # 1". An oscillating one with a melody weaver of earworm clinging to its loops, and another pulsatory line which is trying to assert its dominance. And through it, twinkle and skip a swarm of sequences with interstellar tones. Attached to our ears, this harmonic rhythmic structure unfolds its ample oscillating loops which float between anesthetic layers and seraphic thin lines of voices. The nuances in the comfort of the layers and the rhythmic oscillations are sweet for our ears which hear the music spun between our senses as fast as its seconds. "Strange Music # 2" clings to the last ambiospheric breaths of "Strange Music # 1" with a more pronounced sequencer movement which extends an ambient and slowly strobing structure in a splendid cosmic setting. Even if the rhythm is much more alive and accentuates its presence over the seconds, the music remains always at the doors of the melancholy. "Strange Music # 3" is the rhythmic heart, the pinnacle of the beat of “Strange Music”. The rhythm is lively with sequenced keys jumping in this swarm of sequences which follows the rhythmic romances of MoonSatellite's latest album. Stationary, the rhythm jumps from one chord to another while organic sequences crumble their distortions and other sequences bubble up to thicken the rhythmic sauce. Tears of synths moan with a melancholy vision while cosmic arrangements impose a sound decor which let entering no air bubble.Divided into 2 parts, "Strange Music # 4" offers an opening woven of ambiences' elements where float a mass of cosmic mist. A recital for wandering souls stands out and the stars twinkle to make even more touching this lunar melody which hums in the core of this magma of ambiences. A movement of the sequencer gets out to untie a binary rhythm. One in harmony and the other all in rhythm! This structure is decorated of percussive effects and interstellar chirps which follow its captivating oscillating bend. Much like the 2nd title, "Strange Music # 5" is another good cosmic rock which revolves around the oscillating loops of a structure always revitalized by native sequences which come and go across the spaces of “Strange Music”. After a theatrical introduction fed by cosmic and electronic orchestrations, "Strange Music # 6" explodes with a lively rhythm guided by lines of contiguous sequences. If a line is harmonic, the layers which enfold it are just as much with contrasting effects. The nuances here fill the spaces and especially feed these oscillating loops which go up and down since the first rhythmic steps of the album, thus giving this richness in its decoration as well as all the latitude necessary for MoonSatellite to deepen its rhythms more ambient than driver of frenzy on a dance floor. "Strange Music # 7" offers a finale to the greatness of this album. A lively rhythm which is both melodious and stationary rich in contrasts, both in tones and their impulses tenderly submerged of restraint. The synth pads are equal to these ambivalent structures. Most are enveloping and carved to float in cosmos, while others stand out to form small lines of harmonies which fit well enough philosophy and vision that both romantic and poetic of Wolf Lone who remains one of the most beautiful EM artists made in France.

“Strange Music” is quite an album of this 70's music which flows in my headphones as well as in my speakers. The sound is rich and very enveloping. The sharpness of the sequences is dazzling for the ears. And remember that if you missed those musical-cosmic frescoes from Jean-Michel Jarre and the musical poems of artists such as AGE, Thierry Fervant, Frédéric Mercier and I forget so many, MoonSatellite is the antidote to your needs with a more contemporary vision. Powerful and intimidating!

Members of this Blog

Qui suis-je

Bonjour!
My name is Sylvain Lupari from Joliette in Quebec (Canada). I’m known as Phaedream all over the Internet since the beginning of 2000 where I started to write reviews. In 2005, I joined the French Webzine Guts of Darkness and on August 2010 I created a Blog, Synth & Sequences, which has reached the point of 1 000,000 visitors on February 2017 where I also wrote my 1354th review. In French and in English, I wrote more than reviews of EM albums.
This Blog is a huge success and reference about the music which sets my mind free over the years. Too many chronicles, so I have to split this Blog in several sections. Robert Schroeder is the first to welcome my thoughts on Webpress.
So, welcome to this part of my Blog Synth&Sequences which is devoted to the music, the tones and sounds of Aachen’s own Robert Schroeder.
Here you will find informations about his career and discography and latest news as well as deep reviews about his music, his albums.
My only wish is to guide you through his impressive career and may I suggest to visit regularly my Blog Synth & Sequences for more updates on EM.